Alexander McQueen My Queen: a gender-neutral scent?

The design house of the late Alexander McQueen (not unlike Vivienne Westwood) was very interested in the use of images of European aristocrats and royalty. For much of history of the Western world, fashion and taste was dictated by aristocrats and also by popular stage performers, both male and female. Today, fashion is dictated by the aristocracy of the media: the celebrities.

Nevertheless, I sampled My Queen by Alexander McQueen and was struck by it's genderless qualities. In fact, this might even qualify as a "masculine," the purple-girly bottle and the name aside. I am one of the first to say, "Wear what you like regardless of the bottle or the label," but these are my observations.

My Queen was released in 2005 after the controversial Kingdom. It is, in fact, a toned-down version of Kingdom. It's my understanding that it goes beyond the three-tier pyramid to four levels of notes:

The drydown is surely unisex, with the patchouli, cedar, vetiver, iris and vanilla. As for another "queen," ELdO's Delicious Closet Queen attempts to start with a masculine exterior with feminine underneath, My Queen attempts to start with a floral set of feminine notes with a masculine set of base notes.

This does have a floral opening, but ends with a predominantly patchouli base note. Good staying power and sillage.

Re: Alexander McQueen My Queen: a gender-neutral scent?

l love My Queen from top to bottom, on me the violet note lasts a long time, & the masculine notes stop it from becoming too sweet or cloying in a "parma violet" sort of way. l have never smelled Kingdom so l can't compare, but l think My Queen would smell great on a man.

​​"What is this secret connection between the soul, and sea, clouds and perfumes? The soul itself appears to be sea, cloud and perfume..." - from Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis.

Re: Alexander McQueen My Queen: a gender-neutral scent?

Originally Posted by teardrop

l love My Queen from top to bottom, on me the violet note lasts a long time, & the masculine notes stop it from becoming too sweet or cloying in a "parma violet" sort of way. l have never smelled Kingdom so l can't compare, but l think My Queen would smell great on a man.

Teardrop, I took your tip on the Women's Forum when I was looking for violets!

I found that Violetta di Parma was very feminine in a modern way (soft, floral and slightly powdery) or for a man with 19th century sensibilities with florals. I sampled My Queen and was surprised at how unisex it was, like Kingdom, yet with less knock-down power.

I think many men would enjoy wearing My Queen, as we both note the more "masculine" notes.

Last edited by Primrose; 19th October 2010 at 04:28 PM.

"No elegance is possible without it...perfume is a part of you." Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel

Re: Alexander McQueen My Queen: a gender-neutral scent?

Originally Posted by Primrose

Teardrop, I took your tip on the Women's Forum when I was looking for violets!

I found that Violetta di Parma was very feminine in a modern way (soft, floral and slightly powdery) or for a man with 19th century sensibilities with florals. I sampled My Queen and was surprised at how unisex it was, like Kingdom, yet with less knock-down power.

I think many men would enjoy wearing My Queen, as we both note the more "masculine" notes.

l'm so glad you managed to try it, Primrose! Did you like it, though? (l won't be offended if not!)

​​"What is this secret connection between the soul, and sea, clouds and perfumes? The soul itself appears to be sea, cloud and perfume..." - from Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis.

On me kingdom starts very spicy, somehow salty, and goes in a rose floral heart surrounded by resinous notes. It`s quite interesting that the cumin doesn`t go on me in a armpit direction as the cumin in Declaration Essence goes.
From the list that you posted it, i`m only concerned about Royal Bain de Caron. There are comments that flower by kenzo is similar to Royal, and flower by kenzo it`s a fragrance that i dislike. Does My Queen goes in a flower direction similar to the one in flower by kenzo?